About BBRidgESZ

A Brief History

During a visit to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, I met a family there and we started talking. As a retired teacher, I wanted to know about the schools in their village. They took me to see Chidobe Primary School. I asked if the school had books for the library or the classrooms. It was then we decided that we could be of service to this school and community. With my various contacts, I could receive support through people and agencies that could donate or sell books at a low cost. Mr. Mutava contacted the headmistress of the school, Mrs. Tshuma who said, “Any help we could get would be greatly appreciated”. I received approval from my principal, Mrs. Whitten at PTAA to form a school team of students who assisted with the collection of donated books. Thus we began this most important mission Building Bridges to resources in the school and the community. BBRidgESZ co-founders are now in communications with: Mr. Mudenda, the Headmaster of Chidobe Primary School, Mr. Moyo of Chidobe Secondary School, and Mr. & Mrs. Moyo at Fountain College providing school for young adults who cannot afford to attend school but are seeking diplomas. School support from Texas include Ms. Tara Addison and Mr. Terrance Gassaway, leadership at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy.

Where we are today

BBRidgESZ is actively supporting underserved schools in Zimbabwe, with plans to expand globally. We’ve partnered with school leaders, and Mr. Jakaranda Nyasha Mutava serves as our on-the-ground contact and in charge of fundraising in Zimbabwe. Ms. Cynthia Wheat is engaging with education, including grant writing and fundraising and meeting with church leaders for further support.

Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit is a fully vetted nonprofit agency. We’ve assembled a diverse board of eight volunteer members with expertise in education and business. So far, we’ve built bookshelves and put them in classrooms, delivered library books to Chidobe Primary School, provided full curriculum materials, supplied laptops to Chidobe Secondary School, and donated supplies to Fountain College.

At Fountain College, we provided back pay for tuition for 30 students. This helped the co-founders to maintain their lease. Getting rent current helped the school to continue operations. A ripple effect occurred in the community enabling their landlord to get necessary medical assistance for his daughter with a heart condition. We also donated plumbing mechanisms for toilets in order to meet sanitation and health standards for the school.

On the Horizon

Plans were in motion to ship 23 boxes of additional books and to organize student field trips within Zimbabwe. We discovered that it is cheaper to purchase books over there rather than to ship these 23 boxes. So, we have plans of finding and getting schools in South America to ship the books we have. Once we find schools there, the collection of books can be a revolving door. We get donated books, ship them to schools, then get more donated books. Fundraising and grant writing has begun, and we are energized by the collaboration between educational leaders across continents. Our long-term vision includes connecting classrooms globally to share and learn together.

2025 

• Chidobe Primary. We provided curriculum materials and library books 
• Chidobe Secondary received a school computer and each teacher received laptops 
• For three schools, we provided supplies & resources for students, teachers, and schools,

2026 

Chidobe Primary 

• Built bookshelves for classrooms
• Provided more curriculum materials with aligned student books

Foundation College

• Paid back pay fees for tuition for students who missed their payments to the school. 
• Provided plumbing mechanisms to flush toilets 
• Donated money to teachers for necessary school supplies

In addition, we pay an educator to offer tutoring for young adults preparing to take state exams.

Future plans

• Continued support with curriculum materials and books
• WiFi connections and computers
• Provide scholarship opportunities
• Construct other needed buildings

We also have two more schools to add to our list.

We have begun fundraising events to raise awareness and hoping to gain support with funding so that we may continue this effort supporting schools around the globe. Additionally, we are actively seeking grant opportunities and writing proposals to bring funding to the organization.